Jeff Bell is not a perfect candidate. It's been said that he lived in Jersey during his formative years and met his wife in the Garden State. At any rate he moved from the state in 1983 and has admitted he came back to NJ to run for the Senate. At least he's open about it. Booker accuses Bell of carpet bagging but he was mayor of Newark without ever living their himself.What I like most about is that he doesn't about Bell is that he is plain spoken and direct he doesn't run from the issues. Unlike most Republicans and Democrats. If they hold a position that is unpopular they get nervous when they have to talk about it. Bell just says what he feels.Jeff Bell's foremost expertise has to do with the economy. He favors going back to the gold standard. I don't know much about that subject like most. He won't have any success getting America back on the gold standard anyway. He is concerned about low interest rates and fiscal discipline and thinks we should not be relying on these low rates. Interest rates are historically extremely low. However this could be hurting the economy.

Our national debt is the highest it's been since just after WW2. The only reason the national deficit is not currently a crisis is because of extremely low interest rates. Artificially low. The fed is printing money to keep the interest rates low. If inflation goes up we will have no choice but to raise interest rates to keep it from going out of control. The national deficit will then become a crisis. We could then be forced into what is called austerity. Harsh spending cuts that even "mean Republicans" like Jeff Bell don't want.

We don't need another economic crisis. We need a smart man who can help lead others to smarter spending decisions. That's Jeff Bell.

Cory Booker is concerned about promoting himself primarily. This is coming from a Democrat who actually has lived in an around Newark his whole life. Over 70 years. He says that Booker has done some good things but in the end he is disappointed in him and feels he has failed the city. I had just seen this interview this past Sunday and I can't for the life of me remember the person's name.

Booker ran for mayor as some one who was sick of crime and determined to do something about it.The number of violent crimesincreased during his tenure even while the population of Newark decreased. Some say Newark was a lost cause anyway but if someone else had that record Booker would surely call that person a failure.

He did accomplish getting some investors to help rebuild in downtown Newark. But overall, even many supporters felt that Booker failed the city and was using it as a springboard to higher office.

NY Times excerpt Dec. 2012

Taxes have risen more than 20 percent over the past three years, even after the city laid off about 1,100 workers, including more than 160 police officers. Crime has risen, and unemployment is up. Schools remain under state control, and the city’s finances remain so troubled that it cannot borrow to fix its antiquated water system. While new restaurants have risen near the Prudential Center downtown, those in the outer wards were placed under a curfew this year because of shootings and drug dealing.

~Kate Zernike

As senator, he tauts himself as someone who can work across the Isle with Republicans and speaks about his talks with Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul. But it's been Paul who has been reaching out to the Democrat side on issues like reforming drug laws, allowing felons to vote and legalizing recreational marijuana.

I also liked Jeff Bell's response to the incarceration question when it was asked of him in the debate. He pointed out that many people who serve prison sentences for non-violent crimes actually are violent criminals but they made a plea deal to non violent offense.

He reached across the isle and went against most members of his own party in 2007 when he supported an immigration bill. He worked on the Bill with both (R) John Mccain and (D) Ted Kennedy. It was actually then senator Obama who helped kill the bill to the disappointment of many in his own party when he added an amendment to the bill that he was warned would prevent the bill from passing. Many including myself believe that Obama was pretending to favor the bill, but actually wanted it to fail because he thought it would help Republicans get more Hispanic votes.

He also worked on the Tax reform Act of 1986 and helped bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass that law.

In the Debate Cory Booker kept referring to Bell as a Tea Party candidate. He was using 'Tea Party' like it was a curse word. In my view, the Tea Party favors more fiscal responsibility, and less social spending. That's a good thing. Jeff Bell is hardly a right wing tea party guy. He wouldn't take the stand on immigration that he has if he was. He's an independent thinker. No one in the tea party is calling for the US dollar to be backed by gold.

In addition I believe Booker should be held accountable for the corruption that occurred under his watch regarding the Newark Watershed authority